Hi Steve,
I too am confused, hence my post. I have many traditional tartan kilts, 13 oz for dancing and 16 oz ones for best and cheap acrylic ones for garage work as they stand grease and dirt abuse so wash out beautifully, are comfortable but poor outdoors and are highly flammable. I wear them almost daily and a few minutes ago was arc welding in one which is pretty stupid I know. I seek safer cheap alternatives for enjoying my hobbies in.

Re Your comment on the weight of American made kilts. I quickly searched the web for budget kilts in North America and found 9 oz or less materials in cheap kilts very common. Doubt me? Check these. Utilitikilts (are they a kilt?) are 8 oz, Stillwater are acrylic so are 9oz or less, Sportkilt are PV but their weight was not listed but I have mail from Seamus who said they are 8 oz. Altkilts have 10 oz cotton but an option offered is half the weight so about 5 oz! I stopped looking then. Woollen kilts of 9 oz are listed on many big name web sites but none are cheap and none actually recommended with most sites saying 13 oz is the minimum practical weight. This makes me wonder about these light weight American kilts that people are wearing traditionally!

A concern with cotton mix fabric alternatives is oil and grease. They absorb it easily then it won't completely wash out of cotton/synthetic mix trousers and jeans so they soon go in the rags bin. I suspect cotton based kilts would fare no better. I have old cars and machines so oil and grease abounds while working on them. If squatting to work on them, kilts always touch the floor and wick up any leaked fluids or wipe inevitable filth from the floor. Wool and synthetics shrug off such abuses but I fear not cotton mix materials.

PV of 13 oz is looking the go for my dirty work but I am not sure if America can provide them at low cost. I may end up on E Bay where almost anything can be found and been the satisfactory origin of several of my wool and a PV kilt.

Comments Please

Bill